-zale / -kide

Fans and Fellows: -zale, -kide

Level 5

futbolzale is a football fan; lankide is someone who works with you. Both go on the end of a noun.

How It Works

1. -zale: someone who loves something.

  • futbolzale (football fan), kirolzale (sports fan), musikazale (music lover)
  • mendizale (hiker, mountain lover)
  • irakurzale (keen reader), from irakurri
  • bakezale (peace lover, pacifist)
  • lanzale (hard-working, fond of work)

2. -kide: someone who shares something with you.

  • lankide (coworker), from lan (work)
  • ikaskide (classmate), from ikasi (to study)
  • taldekide (teammate), bidaikide (travel companion)
  • bazkide (member of a club or partner in a business)

3. A fan is not a doer. A doer word comes from a verb with -le: irakurle is a reader, anyone who reads; irakurzale is someone who loves to read. In the same way, langile is a worker, lanzale is a hard-working person, and lankide is a coworker.

Tip: Ask yourself: does the person love it (-zale) or share it with someone (-kide)?

Examples (6)

  1. Nire aita futbolzale amorratua da.

    My dad is a huge football fan.

  2. Mendizaleak goiz irten dira.

    The hikers set off early.

  3. Lankide batekin bazkaltzen dut egunero.

    I have lunch with a coworker every day.

    lan (work) + -kide.

  4. Ikaskideekin azterketa prestatu dut.

    I have prepared for the exam with my classmates.

  5. Ana irakurzale handia da.

    Ana is a keen reader.

    irakurri (to read) + -zale: someone who loves reading.

  6. Taldekide berria Bilbokoa da.

    The new teammate is from Bilbao.

Common Mistakes

  • Using -zale when you mean a fellow.

    Hau nire lanzalea da.
    Hau nire lankidea da.

    If you mean "This is my coworker", use lankide. lanzale means someone who loves to work, a hard worker.

  • Using -zale for a plain reader.

    Aldizkari honek bost mila irakurzale ditu.
    Aldizkari honek bost mila irakurle ditu.

    To say the magazine has five thousand readers, use irakurle. irakurzale means a keen reader, someone who loves books.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-zale / -kideLevel 5Fans and Fellows: -zale, -kide

Learn This First

-zale and -kide follow doers and compounds.

Words in This Pattern

zalekide